Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret ...



Bury Us Upside Down: The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail. By Rick Newman and Don Shepperd. New York: Presidio Press Ballantine Books, 2006.

This is the story of the Misty pilots stationed at Phu Cat Air Base in Vietnam (II Corps) who served as Forward Air Controllers (FACs) in ROUTE PACK 1 (1st target group north of the DMZ) from 1967 to mid-1970. Commando Sabre was the real unit name for these pilots whose call sign “Misty” was derived by the unit’s first commander who liked the song made famous by Johnny Mathis. The Misty unit was officially designated as Detachment One 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

It was the job of the Misty FACs to locate possible targets which was extremely difficult because the pilots were confronted with triple canopy jungle and could seldom discern much of anything on the ground. But their most critical issue was dealing with and dodging the barrage and variety of anti-aircraft fire from 37mm, 57mm and larger weaponry which helped sustain the general rule amongst FAC pilots of “no second passes.” Or as the authors phrased it “Dancing around the gun sites was one of the most delicate parts of the job, like trying to grab a rattlesnake by the neck with your bare hands.” (p. 63)

Although the unit had the special blessing of the Air Force’s top man in Saigon, Gen. William W. Momyer, the unit seemed always under manned, under supplied and unappreciated or even ignored. The unit had only 18 pilots at any one time who volunteered or were encouraged by word of mouth from other fighter units to undertake a four-month stint, or a 100 mission limit with Misty.

While the story begins and ends with the funeral service of one Misty pilot, Howard K. Williams who was shot down in March 1968 but remained missing in action until his body fragments were recovered in 1991, the book is about all of the pilots whose lives were forever changed by their experiences as Misty FACs. They were dedicated men who went beyond the pale not only to locate targets but also to recover downed crewman and seek out targets that were the source of re-supply for both the Viet Cong and the NVA (North Vietnamese Army) fighting in South Vietnam. As Misty pilot Dick Rutan who later co-piloted the famous “Voyager” flight portrayed the job of Misty “our job is to keep the crap from getting to the gomers who are killing our American kids” (p.323). Before they were dissolved in May 1970 the Misty pilots had become experts at directing recovery efforts for downed pilots. Their methodology became a lessons learned strategy for the Air Force. To rescue one downed fighter pilot, Lance Sijan, over 108 aircraft had been involved in the effort and two Misty flights had directed at least thirty-four-air strikes causing great NVA losses. But as the authors note while the Mistys got their man and although enemy losses were great NVA supplies kept coming. Their toll throughout their tenure: of the 157 pilots that served with Misty thirty four were shot down and two twice, three became prisoners and seven others were listed as missing in action.

As the war progressed the Misty pilots were challenged by heavier weaponry, specifically the dreaded Russian imported missiles or SAMs. Unlike the pilots who flew into the gauntlet of the air defenses of Hanoi, the Mistys were naked. The majority of them flew F-100s which had no electronic countermeasures to jam a missile’s radar, no chaff to draw a missile off course, no effective RHAW (Radar Homing and Warning) gear to warn them of a launch. If a SAM happened to come their way, they had to rely on their own flying skills to get away which even the best pilots who flew up north would say was fool hardy.

Through mission after mission the Misty pilots exhibited undaunted courage in their efforts to check the enemy supply routes. Historians would be well advised to place Mistys with the famous units and pilots of previous wars such as Eddie Rickenbacker’s World War I “Hat in the Ring,” 94th Aero Squadron, Gabby Gabreski and Hub Zemke’s World War II 56th “Wolf pack” Fighter Group, or the James McConnell’s 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing of the Korean War fame and Robin Olds and Chappie James 555th Fighter Wing of the Vietnam War, plus other renown units. Incidents of pilot heroism and teamwork and the terrifying moments that are only experienced in warfare are adeptly portrayed in this book.

George M. Watson, Jr. Ph.D., Senior Historian, Air Force Historical Studies Office.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download